This PERC Policy Series explores the underlying issues fueling conflicts such as the Masher standoff, as well as what might be done to resolve them. Battles such as this are the result of federal land policies that encourage conflict instead of negotiation.

Nearly half of the West is owned by the federal government. In this new report, PERC researchers find that the federal government loses money managing valuable natural resources on federal lands, while states generate financial returns.

The National Park Service already faces financial struggles, but Congress has just created seven new parks with no additional funding. Writing for The Hill, Shawn Regan explores how that impacts park managers.

As hard-fought wilderness bills languish in Congress, some are claiming that wilderness areas are good for local economies. But what does the research actually say about the economic effects of wilderness designations?

Pages

Founded 30 years ago in Bozeman, Montana, PERC—the Property and Environment Research Center—is the nation’s oldest and largest institute dedicated to improving environmental quality through property rights and markets.

The goal of PERC’s programs is to fully realize the vision of establishing “PERC University,” where scholars, students, policy makers, and others convene to expand the applications of free market environmentalism.

PERC's fellowships share a common goal of exposing new scholars, students, journalists, and policy makers to free market environmentalism, as well as enable scholars already familiar with FME to explore new applications.